A mic master at the Cozy Kit Bar and Lounge in Gretna, Grant, 22, was involved in a brawl that started inside the business and spilled outside onto Cook Street, where two gunmen fired at least 10 bullets. Grant died at the scene.

Williams' brother Mark allegedly started the fight with Grant. Adrian Williams claimed that when the fight broke out, he sought out and found the mother of his baby and whisked her away to safety. But authorities disputed that account and provided witnesses who said they saw Williams with a gun.

"He got involved," Assistant District Attorney Seth Shute told the jury in closing argument Wednesday. "And he shot Carl Grant, like a dog in the street."

Under Louisiana law, second-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence in prison, meaning Williams will not be eligible for probation, parole or suspended sentence. Judge Ross LaDart of the 24th Judicial District Court will hand down the sentence on May 8.

Jason Elliot, 27, of New Orleans, also is charged with second-degree murder in Grant's death. His trial is scheduled for May.

Jason ElliotGretna PD

Assistant District Attorney Joshua Vanderhooft described Grant as the "hype man," or the "life of the party" for events inside the bar. The Gretna Police Department initially speculated that Grant's banter might have caused the fight.

Joe Perez, Williams' public defender, accused the prosecutors of overburdening the jury with meaningless evidence. Of the 15 witnesses the prosecutors put on the witness stand during the three-day trial, only three were focused on the identity of the shooter. That, Perez claimed, was the question at the crux of the case.

Perez provided testimony from two witnesses who claimed that they saw Williams standing across Cook Street from the brawl, looking on when the guns were fired. Those witnesses, Dominque Gurgues and Nelson Duplessis, admitted they were Williams' friends, and they also said Williams' brothers Mark and Cornell were the shooters.

Gurges, said he saw "a lot of people" attack Grant. Duplessis claimed he saw Mark Williams shoot into the air to disperse the crowd, and then saw Cornell Williams fire bullets into Grant's body.

Jurors rejected both claims.

Duplessis, 20, of Gretna, is currently serving five years of probation for pleading guilty to accessory after the fact to second-degree murder in the case. Police said he was one of the men who beat up Grant, and the charge stems from his giving detectives the wrong names of the shooters.

A detective testified Thursday he overheard Duplessis tell another person in the Gretna Police Department's holding cell, "Don't worry, I gave them the wrong name." Authorities said Duplessis withheld Williams' and Elliot's names.

This marked the second time since October that the trial has gotten underway. In October, the attorneys were selecting a jury when LaDart granted the defense lawyers their request for a mistrial after some of their witnesses said they felt intimidated by claims made by Williams' brothers.

During a closed hearing, those witnesses testified that Williams' brothers wanted to ensure that Adrian Williams was blamed for killing Grant.

Since then, the prosecutors decided to try Williams and Elliot separately.